Fixed Limit Holdem - An Overview
Fixed Limit Holdem tables are where beginners usually start their forays into the word of online poker.
Nowadays, Fixed Limit Holdem poker has been taken over in popularity by the NL variant, which is much more exciting to play, and to watch, hence its extreme TV-friendliness.
Few people know that not so long ago, Fixed Limit (FL) was the only betting structure used in poker games.
A telltale clue in this respect is the fact that while all poker variants can be played with a Fixed Limit betting structure, not all of them can be played No Limit (NL). This fact suggests another conclusion: NL is radically different from FL.
The main difference between the two betting structures consists in the strategy-approach they call for.
While NL Holdem is a game where psychology and generally playing the player instead of the cards takes on a huge role, FL poker strategy is based on mathematics, pot odds and EV+ calculus.
Playing the cards rather than playing the player is more important here. This is exactly why FL tables are well-suited for beginners: playing the cards and not the players is a characteristic of the first and second levels of poker thought, levels which most beginners are on and will probably be stuck on for a good while.
Whip your mathematical understanding of the game into shape and become a scrapper: take advantage of every tiny little edge that you can get your hands on. You opponents will also be aiming for the same thing, so the difference will be made by the smallest of margins.
People often complain that at FL tables they have their hands tied when it comes to the psychological aspect of the game, namely: they cannot bluff or exert pressure in any way.
While bluffing is in fact possible at Fixed Limit tables as well, a successful Fixed Limit Holdem bluff is much more difficult to muster than at an NL table. Don’t get me wrong: it takes skills to be a good bluffer in No-Limit Hold'em too.
I’m not saying it’s a piece of cake there. All I’m saying is that it is much more difficult to bluff in FL than in NL and here’s why: FL is a game where pot odds, hand equities and basic mathematics are the pillars of successful strategy.
Well, those pot odds that you get are excellent or at least good, pretty much all the time. The worst pot odds you can get in FL poker are 2-1, but you only get hit with such odds in a very few situations.
Most of the time, the money that you get for yours is 3-1 and upward. In this situation, it is obvious why calling a lot makes perfect sense, not only to you but to your opponents as well. Since the nature of the betting structure ties your hands up when it comes to ruining those pot odds for your opponents, you’d do better to prepare to be called all the way down to the showdown.
Another reason why players tend to stick to their hands and call all raises you fire their way, is that Fixed Limit poker creates a sense of security for players who know they can’t possibly be felted in any single hand.
These excellent pot odds mean that there will be much more value in drawing hands too. The pot odds that you get in hands where more than 2 players stick around (and most FL hands will be such hands) justify calls on flush or straight draws most of the time.
Again: the problem is that these calls will be justified for your opponents as well, which means your ability to protect a hand will be severely limited. Tighten up your starting hand selection and aim to win 1-3 big bets per hour.
If you manage to do that, you’ll consistently walk away with money from the FL tables. Sign up for a rakeback deal too, or to a poker prop deal.
FL tables generate just as much rake as NL ones do, and that rake will come straight out of your pocket.
In a game where winning comes down to such marginal edges, a rakeback deal’s importance cannot be insisted on enough.
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